I've recently bought two of these. One each in .204 and .22-250. On sale right now, btw. Savage® Arms 12 FV Bolt-Action Varmint Rifles : Cabela's
They are essentially low-end bench guns but are very accurate right out of the box. They only have two drawbacks for the kind of shooting we do. First, the polymer stocks are very light and, second, I prefer to feed our p doggin' guns as single shots. Last July, when I got the .204, I ordered and installed a Sharp Shooter Supply single shot loading ramp. It's a drop-in part but you do have to remove the magazine box from the stock. Last month, I bought the .22-250 and tried the ramp in it. Both are short action center feed rifles but the ramp didn't fit the .22-250. Emailed SSS (Lisa) and she told me they routinely find machining variations due to worn or dull tools being used on mass production guns. I broke out the calipers and found there is a measurable difference in the width of the magazine openings. I ordered another ramp and it arrived yesterday. Did some judicious filing on the ramp and it's now an easy press fit and feeding perfectly. Good advice and quick service from SSS which some will say is unusual.
As for the Savage stock, I removed that ridiculous piece of styrofoam and filled the buttstocks with Bondo. Added 1.5 - 2 lbs to each gun. Also did the Bondo in a .223 Savage with an accustock and a muzzle brake which already had a pretty soft recoil. I expect all of them to be even more pleasant to shoot now. Seeing your hits through the scope is half the fun in a prairie dog town.
They are essentially low-end bench guns but are very accurate right out of the box. They only have two drawbacks for the kind of shooting we do. First, the polymer stocks are very light and, second, I prefer to feed our p doggin' guns as single shots. Last July, when I got the .204, I ordered and installed a Sharp Shooter Supply single shot loading ramp. It's a drop-in part but you do have to remove the magazine box from the stock. Last month, I bought the .22-250 and tried the ramp in it. Both are short action center feed rifles but the ramp didn't fit the .22-250. Emailed SSS (Lisa) and she told me they routinely find machining variations due to worn or dull tools being used on mass production guns. I broke out the calipers and found there is a measurable difference in the width of the magazine openings. I ordered another ramp and it arrived yesterday. Did some judicious filing on the ramp and it's now an easy press fit and feeding perfectly. Good advice and quick service from SSS which some will say is unusual.
As for the Savage stock, I removed that ridiculous piece of styrofoam and filled the buttstocks with Bondo. Added 1.5 - 2 lbs to each gun. Also did the Bondo in a .223 Savage with an accustock and a muzzle brake which already had a pretty soft recoil. I expect all of them to be even more pleasant to shoot now. Seeing your hits through the scope is half the fun in a prairie dog town.
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I believe the secret to success with Sharp Shooter Supply is to only buy small in-stock items from them. If you're looking for custom work, they have a reputation for being very good but very slow. They shipped my loading ramp via USPS and sidestepped the above-mentioned law.
